Google Play store sells out of 16GB Nexus 7, could be weeks for new batch

Bolstered by rave reviews, the Google Nexus 7 has been flying off the shelves. When checking the Google Play store, we noticed that the 16GB version has sold out entirely, while the 8GB tablet is still in stock.

The 16GB Nexus 7 goes for $249, but a “Notify Me” button has replaced the “Add to Cart” option, which prompts potential customers to enter in their email addresses to be notified of when the 16GB device becomes available. The 8GB tablet, which can only be purchased online, runs for $199. But beware: the 8GB device will likely be in low reserves due to the demand for its 16GB counterpart.

The Guardian reports that Google was surprised with the demand for the higher priced 16GB device, and assumed that the 8GB would be the more popular model.

“The Guardian understands that Google’s planners had thought that buyers on the Google Play store, more than from physical or online retailers, would be more committed to the company’s ‘cloud concept, and so would have more of their content stored online, rather than wanting to keep it on the device,” Dan Farber of the Guardian explained.

Both versions of the Nexus 7 lack a micro SD card slot, which prevents owners from increasing the device’s storage capacity. As such, spending the extra $50 for the extra 8GB of flash storage was likely a no-brainer for customers. After all, despite Google’s thoughts about the cloud, the recent Amazon Cloud outages were just one example of the inherent dangers in relying on a third-party with your files.

The Nexus 7 has become the darling of the 7-inch tablet market, making it a serious — if not superior — contender to Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet. The device, which was unveiled during Google’s I/O conference approximately one month ago, packs a powerful punch for a tablet, boasting a 1.3GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 7-inch 1280 x 800 pixel IPS LCD screen, and the latest Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS.

With the 16GB device is out of stock on Google Play, it will likely be another few weeks before Asus ships a new batch of the 16GB Nexus 7. But if you’re desperate, it appears that a couple of third-party retailers may still be carrying the device (or just may not have updated their system), or you can try your luck on eBay.